Nielsen Fitness - Personal Training Toronto

Beans are one of nature’s healthiest foods – they are low in fat, contain no saturated fat or cholesterol and are packed with fibre and minerals like calcium, potassium, iron and the B Vitamin folic acid.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation reports that eating beans may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. Studies suggest beans are useful in managing diabetes, may cut risk for high blood pressure and may help in losing weight.

If this is enough to make you want to incorporate more beans into your diet, try this recipe that trainer Lars recommends:

Mix the following together in a large bowl. Any ingredient can be omitted depending on food preferences.

2 cups chopped green beans – cooked until tender
1 can chickpeas
1 can black beans
1 can lentils
1 sweet red/green/yellow/orange pepper, diced
1 cup sweet corn
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

Chilli Lime Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable/olive/flax oil
1 tsp grated lime rind
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Note: Fresh organic beans are recommended, and canned beans should, as always, be drained and rinsed. This recipe makes a great meal or snack and keeps well for several days in fridge. Check out our recipes section for more great food ideas

Nielsen Fitness is proud to announce a new addition to the team: Endurance Specialist Dave Bateman. With more than 8 years of personal training experience, and dozens of endurance races, including marathons, and multi-sport races of various distances under his belt, Dave is a valuable addition to the Nielsen Fitness team.

Dave has a degree is psychology and a diploma in exercise science, and has experience with functional strength, injury management and sport specific conditioning. Though he has trained people at the elite level for the Boston marathon, and Ironman competitions, Dave gets just as excited about working with a beginner training for their first 5k.

Already, Dave is making a name for himself at Nielsen Fitness – here’s what one of his new clients has to say: “Hi Poul, we wanted to let you know that we were really impressed with Dave this morning. We spent the morning doing running routines, technique, stretching and more. He’s really knowledgeable and will be a huge help in helping us achieve our goals.”

Contact Nielsen Fitness to set up a consultation with Dave today!

Dave Bateman

PS – Calling all existing clients – Nielsen Fitness is proud to announce an exciting new referral program for existing clients. For every new client referred during the months of May, June and July who purchases 10 sessions (or more), you will receive 5 complimentary training sessions. Email Nielsen Fitness for more information or call 416.356.2658.

Recently a client of mine passed along a New York Times article called You Name It, and Exercise Helps It. As the name suggests, it outlines a long list of chronic health problems that can be helped with exercise.

The article quotes Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health as saying: “The single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise.”

I was so pleased to see this article, and Dr. Hu’s comment, since I have long believed that exercise is hands-down the best preventative drug out there.

They always say proof is in the pudding, so I would like to share an example with you. Last September, Nielsen Fitness got a call from a woman named Fiorella (I have Fiorella’s blessing to tell this story, by the way) who was overweight, had out of control blood sugar and had been diagnosed as diabetic. Looking for a big change in her life, Fiorella signed on with Nielsen Fitness and began working out three times a week at her home with Lars. These regular training sessions combined with Lars’ nutritional advice and insight made all the difference in Fiorella’s life. Now, 7 months later, she is an amazing 65 pounds lighter and is no longer considered diabetic.

If that’s not proof of the healing powers of exercise, I don’t know what is. Congratulations Fiorella – keep up the good work, and thank you for allowing me to share your story!

Read more about Fiorella’s Nielsen Fitness experience here.